Development of early diagnostic methods as well as drugs to treat cancer remains one of the most challenging demands on medical research. There is also an increasing interest in tumor-associated antigens as potential targets for the diagnosis and as targets for site directed drug delivery of cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Use of immunoconjugates of drugs with antibodies directed to tumor associated antigens would achieve higher bioavailability and therapeutic index of the drug, as well as diminished adverse side affects usually associated with chemotherapy.
Anti-tumor affect of pentacyclical styrene (terpenoids) has already been mentioned in the literature (Agnihotri et al., Indian J. Pharm. Sci. 2:42 (1987); Maurua et al., Fitotherapia 60:468-469 (1989); Pisha et al., Nature Medicine 1:1046 (1995); and ULkkonen et al., Birch Bark Extractive Kemia Kemi 6:217 (1979). Other lupan-row derivatives of betulinol, namely, betulinic acid, betulonic acid, betulin aldehyde, and betulon aldehyde are emerging as a new class of anticancer agents. Pentacyclic styrenes show anti-tumor activity against carcinosarcoma growth (Sheth et al., J. Pharm. Sci. 61:1819 (1972)), Epstein-Barr virus in lymphoblastoid Raji cells (Liu et al., Acta Bot. Sin. 29:84-87 (1987); Konoshima et al., J. Nat. Prod. 50:1166-1170 (1987)), and nasopharynx carcinosarcoma in vitro (Miles et al., J. Pharm. Sci. 63:613 (1974)). Pentacyclic styrenes also show anti-tumor activity against MCF-7 breast adenoma and P-333 leukemia in vitro (Kahlos Acta Pharm. Feun. 96:33 (1987)). Betulinic acid showed cytotoxic activity against carcinoma cell line CO-115 of the large intestine (LD 50=0.375 mg/ml) (Ukkonen et al., Birch Bark Extractive Kemia Kemi 6:217 (1979)). The anti-cancer activity of the terpenoids was also confirmed in vivo against Walker-256 carcinosarcoma, as tested on mice and rats. It has been suggested that betulinic acid may be the main anti-tumor agent in the mixture of terpenoids (Tomas et al., Planta Medicina 54:266-267 (1988); Jumal et al., India Chem. Soc. 61:92-93 (1964)). Betulinol and its derivatives have shown minimal adverse effect on normally proliferating cells and non-target tissues (Fulda et al., Neoplasia 7:162-170 (2005)).
Betulinol derivatives in general, and betulonic acid in particular, are soluble in a number or organic solvents such as ethanol and DMSO. However, betulonic acid and the known betulinol derivatives are generally insoluble in aqueous environment or other pharmaceutically acceptable solvents. Good solubility in an aqueous environment is an important property for a pharmaceutical agent. Absent this property, administration of the pharmaceutical agent to mammals can be difficult and biologically activity in such mammals (including humans) may be impeded or entirely absent. Due to their limited solubility in aqueous solutions, the use of terpenoids such as betulinol and it derivatives as pharmaceuticals has been limited. To be effective as a pharmaceutical agent, especially for oral ingestion, water soluble betulinol derivatives would be desirable.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other limitations in the art.